Children (Culture)
Children lead vastly different lives growing up in-Territory or out-Territory. During the Interstellar era, (after 350 Unity) the issues of Earth's Territories are gone, but the issues due to living beside Aliens, or in colonies founded around an ideology, will affect children. Before Unity a child growing up in Sime Territory fears becoming Gen at puberty, to be sold for the Kill or to a Genfarm for breeding. No longer considered human by their parents or anyone else they once knew. A child growing up in Gen Territory fears becoming Sime at puberty, becoming a monster with tentacles growing from their arms and Killing those they loved, being hunted down and shot or beaten to death by loved ones and neighbors. Children who escape being caught attempt to get across the border nearest them and into the safety of the other territory. All this gradually changes after Unity, very gradually. By the Interstellar Era, there is a way to distinguish Sime from Gen before birth, and so children are raised and trained accordingly. (Source: Index card file. First Channel) Children don't have a powerful nager. Body uses selyn at an almost inperceptible rate. Nager doesn't link with that of a sime --- simes remain unresponsive to children. (Source: Index card file. "Childhood" --- House of Zeor) 'Hugh's point of view and opinion ---' Children in-Territory had seen the madness of Need, the Kill, the overwhelming strength of the sime. Neighbors, parents, siblings, schoolmates would consider those who had established a Choice Kill (notice Hugh's lack of understanding.) Out-Territory --- (Children who changeover) Hunted, despised, hated by relatives and friends --- adolescents beaten to death by loved ones --- parents' love warped by the fear the child would change over while they slept and attack them --- kids not allowed hammers, nails, knives, or other dangerous tools. "Thrino" accepts that she has no name because she is a Gen and sticks to the hatred of the perverted Householders (for awhile at least). Self-hatred. Not even a "little girl" any more, but a Gen. (Thrino in this case is a young character in House of Zeor that shares a Shrine of the Starred Cross with Klyd and Hugh while they are trying to evade Runzi's Raiders to get to Zeor.) (Source: Index card file. "Sime~Gen Differentiation" --- Jacqueline Lichtenberg to Michael Amsden --- January , 1976) GENETICS: The children of two Gens have a 1/3 chance of being sime. That's not 1/3 of fertilized zygotes, but 1/3 of those that survive puberty. Infant and child death endemic; prenatal deaths, abortions very high --- the mutations are still evolving and there are a lot of unsuccessful recessives. Likewise, children of two simes have about 1/3 chance of being Gen. Does not hold as much for Farrises, who tend to be sime, mostly channels. The few Farris Gens are terrific Donors. (Source: From the fanzine A COMPANION IN ZEOR #13 --- "My Big Sister Has Tentacles" by Jenn Vesperman, is a bedtime story http://www.simegen.com/sgfandom/rimonslibrary/cz/cz13/bigsis.html which might be read to young children.